Coconut wax Me

[soy327]

Hi all,

O.K. I have searched and searched and only found one bit of advice on the coconut wax from Swan's, (it wasn't from this forum) I am getting it tomorrow. Wish me luck! I need it, I might have to use some of Stella's poisen ivy botanical oil:laugh2::laugh2:But I'm going to try it. Anybody else want to put their 2 cents worth in 1st? I am going to make it in a small jar with no color and no FO 1st, then burn til a full pool (I hope) then add color and repeat. Then add FO and repeat. How do you think this will work for a test?

Linda

It's so cold here in Colorado:sad2:

[joanncat18]

I looked into this, but decided against it. I live in the same state as Swans, but decided that I wanted to start with a wax that more is known about so I could search the forums and such for help. Good luck and let us know. I hear it has a slight coconut smell to it.

[Stella1952]

I suggest you test it in a container with which you are very familiar so you will know where to start with a wick. Be sure to burn it for 1 hour per inch of diameter for the test burns, not just until it achieves FMP. You could always make 3 - one plain, one with FO only & one with FO & dye, use the same size wick for all and see what happens. Take good notes & let us know how it goes!!

Sorry you are freezin' your toesies off - it was so HOT & HUMID here yesterday, I might have traded places!

[soy327]

Hi all,

Love this wax good jar adhesion, nice creamy apperance w/a smooth top (baby's butt smooth). Used the 3" tumlers, I started with a CD 16, didn't cut it, went to a CD 20 no way, about 1/4 to 1/2" On the sides in 3 hrs. I'm thinking about passing up the CD 22 and starting again with the CSN series from CS. I already have those as well as, Lx, Eco's (they only go to 16's). I also have some HTP's (never have used those before). Maybe I shoud DBL wick? Help:mad:

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Stella, I did do it the way you suggested 3 jars.

Also the accu-soy 10 is a vey nice wax but in this weather it did shrink up a bit. I'm trying my own version of tempering the wax. I read for many hours the posting on here about that. Not testing yet.

Linda

[Stella1952]

about 1/4 to 1/2" On the sides in 3 hrs.

Slow down!! That is not unheard of on the first burn. It is not mandatory to get a FMP on the first or even second burn! One should wick for the last half of the container. It's important to keep burning them all the way down to see if the candle will "catch up" during subsequent burns.

Before you go jumping all over the place with wicks, etc., test the ones you have all the way down before deciding if a larger one is needed. CDNs are an excellent choice for veggie wax candles. CSNs, while also treated for us with veggie wax, are not the same as the Stabilo (CD) series of wicks.

Slow down a little and plan your testing based on the results from completely testing each test candle. Take good notes for each test period of 1 hour per inch of inside container diameter.

Glad you are pleased with it. What I have read from others who have used the coconut wax has been very encouraging. Hope you're having fun!

[soy327]

I burned it for 3hrs and no way it was going to catch up. Should I try the cd 22? I very carefully , with my heat gun melted the top down and is curing. There was a good 1/4" if not a little more in the middle, melt pool. How long should I wait to retry the cd22.

The accu-soy 10 is curing looks great so far (all day).

Linda

[Stella1952]

I burned it for 3hrs and no way it was going to catch up.

Sorry, but I don't think one can make that statement conclusively unless the wick drowns or the meltpool is only an inch or so in diameter! Many of my candles have 1/4"-3/8" of hangup after the first burn. They all catch up.

[CandleLytes]

I live in Washington too and when I first started making candles, I used this wax. It was ok at first but then I got hooked on Accu-10. I have really good results with the Accu both on it's own and as a parasoy candle. I didn't notice much of a scent throw between the Accu and the Coconut. They were about the same.

Edited November 1, 2009 by CandleLytes

[soy327]

I'm looking at it as though I sell this candle, how long are they going to let it burn before they blow it out and go to bed. I have read your posts on wicking for how the candle will burn in the middle to bottom of the jar so I understand that. I am going to try the cd 22. I wish you could see this wax it's wonderful, I might have an Or@$sm:laugh2: before I get over it. How long should I wait to put a new wick in it? I always pour with no wick and make my hole and insert whatever wick I want to test, if it doesn't work depending on the MP I either smooth it out with the heat gun or put in another wick right away. I only tested the plain one w/no FO and the one w/FO I still have the one w/color, it did shrink up but doesn't look bad because the whole perimeter shrunk a little.

Boy do I believe in the tempering, just have to fine tune what works in this colder climate. Do you add your color and FO and turn off?

I am having fun:yay::yay:. Can't wait til I can wick it properly. What a candle it will be. The throw is good 10% FO OK hot and cold. I think this would be a candle I would maybe make with no color. I have been trying my hand at the powder color, it's not easy. Sorry for all the questions at once but I know you can handle it:laugh2::laugh2:

I'm on the High Road.

Linda

[Stella1952]

Do you add your color and FO and turn off?

No. I add FO & color just before pouring.

I always pour with no wick and make my hole and insert whatever wick I want to test, if it doesn't work depending on the MP I either smooth it out with the heat gun or put in another wick right away

While I may pull wicks while testing pillars, I never do this with containers because, even after smoothing the top, the level of the wax has gone down further into the container where the conditions are not the same as when the candle is tested from beginning to end! I do NOT try to rush through testing because I am eventually heading for the open market with the product.

The throw is good 10% FO OK hot and cold

Holy High FO Load, Batman! The chances of me using 10% FO in a veggie wax candle are about the same as a snowball staying frozen in hades! *faint* That MIGHT explain why you are having trouble getting the candle to melt (assuming that it would not catch up if given a chance)!!! Since FO & container prices are the two highest costs in the manufacture of a container candle (excluding labor), I sure don't wanna double my FO costs for a candle!

I have been trying my hand at the powder color

Particulate pigment in dye is a well-known wick-clogger. It exists in all kinds of dye, but I prefer using a suspension (liquid) because it incorporates more readily in the candle. Since veggie waxes are notoriously harder to burn than is paraffin, I try to give the wick any help I can by using as little FO & dye as possible.

Keep us updated as your testing progresses. Any photos yet?

[soy327]

When I tested the one wo/FO and the one w/FO they were the same melt pool and the one wo/FO started a tiny mushroom explain that:confused:

I didn't put 10% in these, and still have great throw Hot and Cold.

I'm not sure how to post pics on this site yet HELP with that would be greatly appreciated.

I just lit the one with color and FO with a cd 22. I will let it burn until I go to bed tonight.

Finally found another person using the accu soy 10:yay::yay::yay:YEAH

What kind of color are you using? I use the liquid from peak and the powder I found on e-bay so far no trouble with the powder,(except getting it to dissolve).

Linda

Edited November 1, 2009 by soy327

[soy327]

Hi all,

Think I figured out how to send the pics. Keep in mind I didn't fill the tumbler to the top, but it's a pretty open jar. I burned this one last night FO and color, coconut wax. I might have to dbl wick unless another wick will do it????:confused:[ATTACH]18177[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]18178[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]18179[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]18177[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]18180[/ATTACH]

Hope I did this right, The one that's lit is tonight 2nd burn. Any imput would be greatly appreciated on the wicking.

Thanks,

Linda

Edited November 3, 2009 by soy327

[soy327]

Stella, forgot to say, I wasn't curing the soy candles in the oven they were cooling (wrong choice of words there). It's kinda chilly here and the oven was the best place. I heat it to about 170 which is the lowest setting and turn it off when I put the candles in. The accu soy 10 looks great can't wait to test burn tomorrow.

I was making an order of Palm votives for a friend in Florida so I couldn't cool them in the candle room, not a big enough area for all that.

Linda

P.S. Don't give me a bad time for only pouring half the jar, I'm thrifty.

[Stella1952]

Don't give me a bad time for only pouring half the jar, I'm thrifty.

Penny-wise and pound foolish. You will not get accurate testing data that way. The conditions in the last half of the jar are different from the first half. Your test candles should be identical in all major respects to ones you wish to sell. The only difference in my testers and ones for sale is the adhesive I use to stick the wicktab to the container.

Smart move to cool in the warm oven - it's THAT time of year again (she wrote typing with frosty fingers & popcicle toes).

Let that candle burn!! I have repeatedly said that it isn't necessary for a veggie wax candle to achieve FMP or clean the sides on the first burn, or even the second! You cannot shortcut the testing process by pouring half-candles or burning only once or twice!! Unless coconut wax is just terribly hard to burn, a CD 22 is pretty big for tht size container.

Here's one of my 3" C3 containers just before the second burn wicked with a CDN 14, 1 oz. FO PP, swirled liquid dye. It completely cleans the jar at the end!

Edited November 3, 2009 by Stella1952

[soy327]

The issue is the tunneling with the biggest cd wick made. Will any other wick that you know of do the job. I still have a full one to test. w/out color just fo.

What's really weird is that the the one w/out anything shrunck up on the lower part of the jar and the one with fo didn't at all.

Linda

[Stella1952]

The issue is the tunneling with the biggest cd wick made.

I don't see it tunneling at all and 22 is not the largest size CD wick - they go up to 30. What I see is that you are not thoroughly testing each size wick before deciding it doesn't work.

[soy327]

I will test the full jar next, the burn time on this blue one was 10 hrs. Where do I get the larger cd's, my sample pack only went to the 22 I got it from BCN. If I have to order more wicks, maybe I should try the CDN series? What do you think that CDN14 is equal to in the CD series. Don't CDN's burn hotter?

Thanks for your help, I am listening.

Linda

[Stella1952]

JBN carries CDNs in sizes 8-22. I haven't found any suppliers who carry outside that range in CDNs. I am able to find smaller CDs, but not larger. You can order samples from WickIt, who carries the full size range from 2-30. They DO have a high minimum piece order, though...

Try letting the thing burn all the way first and if it still doesn't clean the sides, JBN offers samplers of 5 each of 8-22 CDNs. I think CDNs burn more efficiently, but not a HUGE difference from CDs since they are exactly the same wick - just are impregnated with the chemical treatment to resist oxidation. Coconut wax may simply be harder to burn than others, but try the other stuff before resorting to multiple wicks.

Another thought... How cool is the room where you are test burning? With the weather changing, I notice a difference in burn times, etc. because it's just plain colder in my house than it is in the summer... I test on my porch about half of the year, but if I light one up out there when the temp is 40°F, the wick doesn't produce enough heat to burn the way it should in normal temps. In the winter, I frequently move testing to the bathroom where the temp's more reasonable.

[soy327]

I test in my Living room so I can be watching it as it burns, it is probably at least 68 -70 degrees.

Thanks,

Linda